Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
One-shot at the Atomic Age featuring Bat-Man’s return
18 September 2026Issued by Agar Publishing in September 1947, Atomic Age Comic was a British answer to the action-adventure comics of the American Golden Age.
Rediscovered ‘Grand Tour’ maiolica plaques to highlight specialist sale in Salisbury
15 September 2026Two maiolica plaques by the celebrated Renaissance artist Francesco Xanto Avelli (1487-1542) have resurfaced after more than 140 years out of the public eye.
McAlpine collection: Bonkers but brilliant for buyers
11 September 2026Lots from the extraordinary collection constructed by the McAlpines come to auction in Berkshire
Salver salutes the skills and success of a politician
11 September 2026A recent sale at Moore Allen & Innocent (21% buyer’s premium) in Cirencester included a massive Victorian silver tray or salver by the prominent silversmith Edward Kerr Read (London 1873).
‘Missing’ miniature of Mohawk ally of the British during the American Revolution emerges at auction
09 September 2026A ‘missing’ portrait miniature of Joseph Brant (1743-1807), the famous Mohawk ally of the British during the American Revolution, sold for Can$55,000 (£29,505) at auction in Canada.
Durham Ox dishes up at auction
04 September 2026A 20in (51cm) transfer printed pearlware dish picturing the Durham Ox sold for £3000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at an Antiques & Interiors sale at Bellmans in Billingshurst, West Sussex, on September 1-2.
Fuel tank relic find ‘from historic flight’ emerges at auction
04 September 2026According to a typewritten record, this brass cap for a 19-gallon fuel tank was retrieved directly from the crash site of John Alcock and Arthur Brown’s Vickers Vimy biplane in Clifden, County Galway.
William Morris writes a bedtime story
04 September 2026For the Bed at Kelmscott was written by William Morris in 1891 as an ode to the oak four-poster at his country home in the Thames Valley.
Another Annan photographic record of Glasgow appears
04 September 2026Thomas Annan’s Photographs of The Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow is the earliest and most famous photographic record of the city’s slums.
Christmas comes early in California as Dickens’ carols tune in at auction
04 September 2026Full set of seasonal series from the 1840s stars as Californian collection of literature comes for sale in US
Scarce Easter Island carving bought for £100 takes £60,000 at auction
28 August 2026A rare Easter Island pectoral ornament bought at auction earlier this year for under £100 sold for £60,000 at an online sale held by Salisbury’s Woolley & Wallis on August 20.
Compendium clinches £15,000 as gold prices pick up
28 August 2026This 9ct gold pocket compendium with hallmarks for Alfred Dunhill & Sons, London, 1950, hammered at the lower end of a £15,000-20,000 estimate at Fellows in Birmingham on August 21.
Crescent mark stirs up bidding on liner teapot
21 August 2026An Edwardian ‘Regent Plate’ teapot by the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company of London sold to a UK bidder for £4300 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at Adam Partridge in Liverpool.
Egyptian antiquities emerge in London
21 August 2026A small collection of Egyptian antiquities comes for sale at Catherine Southon in Chislehurst, south-east London, on September 9.
Necklace gifted from artist Sir David Young Cameron to his wife
21 August 2026This fine mother of pearl, citrine and chalcedony Arts & Crafts necklace was a gift from the Scottish artist Sir David Young Cameron (1865-1945) to his wife Jeanie on Christmas Day 1911.
Four Clarice Cliff Age of Jazz classics dance, play and sing into auction action
21 August 2026The Age of Jazz figures issued in 1930 are among the most desirable of all Clarice Cliff models.
Tempting tazze courtesy of maker Ker take £16,000
21 August 2026Estimated at £10,000-15,000, a pair of Scottish Queen Anne tazze hammered for £16,000 at Dawsons (27.5% buyer’s premium) in Maidenhead, Berkshire on July 23.
Watch was sold after princesses took their pick from Queen Charlotte's possessions
21 August 2026This Regency open-faced pocket watch tells an interesting story.